Microsoft just released a bunch of patches to fix vulnerabilities in a number of editions of Windows, including several that are deemed "critical", Microsoft's most serious rating.

The at-risk versions of Windows include Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista. Windows 7 is not affected by these particular holes, which could be exploited by an attacker if left unpatched.

Those with Windows Update set to automatically download and install patches don't have to do anything; others will need to download and install the patches manually. If you do it manually, I strongly recommend not waiting to download the patches; these vulnerabilities are quite severe.

It took Windows Vista, the forerunner to Windows 7, fully seven months to be in use on 4 percent of computers accessing the Internet. Windows 7, by contrast, has beaten that mark in less than three weeks.

According to data released by web monitoring firm Net Applications, Windows 7 just hit 4 percent usage. It was released on Oct. 22 to the public. Contrast that with Vista, which was made available in November 2006; it didn't reach comparable adoption until June 2007.

This shouldn't be too surprising, since Windows 7 took off blazing out of the starting gate. Consumers are voting with their pocketbooks and PCs; it seems like they're giving Windows 7, at least initially, two big thumbs up.

A key milestone for any brand-new Windows operating system (OS) is Service Pack 1. In the case of Windows 7, that service pack may be coming very quickly -- as early as next summer, according to the technology news site Ars Technica, which uses a Russian website as its source.

Service packs are packages of bug fixes and other improvements to an OS. Given their large size and complexity, they're usually treated as separate products in terms of development and release cycles. Microsoft does not charge for service packs.

New Windows OSes have a reputation for problems, which is why many people don't like to switch to a new OS until at least Service Pack 1. Windows XP and Windows Vista were both bug-ridden, and Vista in particular had serious application compatibility issues at release; in other words, lots of stuff didn't work with it.

Windows 7, being essentially a newer version of Vista, does not seem to suffer from the same number of bugs; certainly some have been reported, but by comparison, it's a stable version 1 product. I can confirm those findings with the two different versions of Windows 7 I've used over numerous months. Still, service packs are good things to have, and the sooner Microsoft ships out Service Pack 1 for Windows 7, the better for us all.

Computerworld is reporting that promised Winows 7 upgrades for some purchasers of Windows Vista are slow in coming.

The issue revolves around consumers who bought new PCs earlier this year (before Windows 7 was released Oct. 22), and were told they would get a free or reduced-price copy of Windows 7. The problem seems to be affecting buyers of Dell and HP computers most acutely.

According to the story, HP admitted that the upgrade copies of Windows 7 are taking longer to get out the door than anticipated, but said they should start going out this week.

Those of you who are waiting for your copy of Windows 7 to arrive should check out some of our coverage of the cool new stuff it has, in anticipation of the upgrade. For instance, learn about some of the ways Windows 7 kicks Vista's butt; how to use User Account Control to lock it down; and how to save time by "Pinning" programs to the Taskbar.

Kindle is Amazon.com's ebook reader -- a paperback-sized device on which you can download and read books. It's been a success for Amazon, so the company is expanding its reach into the PC market.

Amazon has announced that Kindle will soon be available for computers running Windows. No availability date was listed on the website, but Microsoft said a beta (pre-release) version will be available sometime in November. All versions of Windows, back to Windows XP service pack 2, will be supported by Kindle PC.

I'll be interested in seeing how this works out. After all, Amazon touts ease of reading as the Kindle's main advantage. The Kindle approximates holding a book in your hand and reading. Computer screens have lower resolution than a book, meaning things aren't as sharp and easy to read. It would seem to nullify one of the big reasons you'd buy a Kindle.

On the other hand, being able to access and download a book for immediate reading from Amazon's immense catalog would have its advantages, too. If you end up signing up for the Kindle and using it on your PC, let me know about your experience.

Windows 7 has tons of shortcuts built in. One really nifty one is "Jump Lists." Jump Lists bring up lists of frequently used functions within a Taskbar item.

For example, let's say you've "pinned" Windows Media Player to your Taskbar (here's how to pin items). Instead of rooting around your hard drive, looking for the last album you were playing, simply right-click on the Windows Media Player icon and a list will appear of your most recent activities (shown at top). Left-click on the item you want.

In my case, I simply click on the top icon and my favorite Internet jazz station (the icon "wbgo_8000.asx") is loaded. No more visiting the website, clicking on the "Listen Live" link, and waiting for the station to load. Jump Lists can be big time-savers.

(By the way, the website is www.wbgo.org. If you like classic jazz, this is a great station. Lots of Miles, Dizzy, Bird, Monk, Brubeck, etc. I'm addicted to it.)

Mary Landesman, About.com's Guide to antivirus software, blogs about the incredibly dumb decision by Apple to make Windows 7 less secure by reimplementing a feature called autorun within iTunes. Autorun allows viruses to spread quickly over a network. Mary quite properly cautions anyone using Windows 7 to keep iTunes off their computer.

Come on Apple, change this immediately. You're constantly touting Mac's superiority over Windows in the security department -- yet you implement a change in Windows 7 that makes it less secure! Can you say hypocrisy?

Antivirus vendor Sophos writes in a blog entry that Windows 7 was vulnerable to eight out of 10 viruses it downloaded onto a computer.

The blogger's conclusion?

"Lesson learned? You still need to run anti-virus on Windows 7.

That's good advice. Although Windows 7 does come with Windows Firewall turned on by default, and User Account Control is set to a reasonable level, it's not enough in today's connected environment.

Microsoft, in its blog response to the findings, disagreed with some of Sophos' testing, and defended Windows 7's security:

"Windows 7 retains and refines the development processes, including going through the Security Development Lifecycle, and technologies that made Windows Vista the most secure Windows operating system ever released."

I think both companies make good points. The key thing to remember here is to use antivirus software on any version of Windows.

More good advice: bookmark About.com's antivirus site. Guide Mary Landesman is a true expert in this field, and will help you keep your computer safe from the bad guys.

If you're the type that likes to keep up with news on Windows 7 (my hand raised high in the air!), there's nothing like going directly to the source: Microsoft.

Fortunately, Microsoft is a very open company (yes, it's true) when it comes to releasing information on blogs. If you want to hear it from the horse's mouth, check out Microsoft's Windows 7 Team Blog. It's frequently updated, and has all kinds of interesting tidbits on various pieces of Windows 7, including what's coming in the near, and far, future.

Bookmark it if you want to follow it every day.

My mom asked me a question about Windows 7 the other day, and I imagine many folks are asking the same question, so I thought I'd reprint my answer.

She has a friend who's buying a new computer, and is wondering about whether or not to buy one with Windows 7 preinstalled. It's a legitimate question, since there are often problems with brand-new programs, especially something as complex as an operating system. And Microsoft has a reputation, deserved or not (in my opinion, partially deserved), for turning out buggy Version 1 software.  Here's what I told mom:

"Tell your friend that Windows 7 is a very good operating system. Even though it's only been out a couple of weeks, it's stable and easy to use. There's no need for her to fear about problems with it. It's better than the previous operating system, Windows Vista. In my opinion, she can order it with complete confidence."

I would offer you the same advice. Yes, there are some kinks that will have to be worked out. But buying  a new computer with Windows 7 on it is an easy choice. It works very well.